Terra's First Night
by Michael Mario
Summary: After a long and exhausting pregnancy, all Madeline wants to do is have some peace and quiet rest with her newborn daughter Terra. Sadly, not everyone is willing to ignore the birth of a half-human, half-Esper hybrid.


**A Final Fantasy VI Story**

******Terra's First Night**

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**October 18, 18 B.C (Before Cataclysm)**

**Land of Espers**

* * *

Exhausted by her long, agonizing pregnancy earlier that day, a young human woman laid resting in a bed. She had curly pale blonde hair done in a long ponytail with her bangs segmented mostly to the right. She was fair skinned and had a modest, somewhat frail figure. Her light blue eyes looked at what was in the bundle of cloth she was currently holding tiredly, but lovingly, "You… you are a very special girl…A little gift neither I nor your father ever expected."

Slowly opening up her special lavender-violet eyes, an adorable little newborn baby girl looked up at her mother sleepily. The mother smiled and lightly petted the little blonde wisps of hair the baby had, "Good to see you too… my wittle Tewa…"

Just then, a tall, muscular, darkly-tanned figure about 7 ft. tall walked into the room. He wore only a loincloth and a sash around his waist. He had dark purple eyes and relatively long silver-green hair also done up in a ponytail like the woman's. He may have seemed mostly normal at first glance besides the height and hair color, his other "features" told a different story.

Instead of fingernails, his fingers were clawed. He had digigrade with long talons on them. His ears were long and elf-like- almost resembling horns were it not for the flicking motion he made with his right one. His mouth was closed, but were it opened you'd see fangs. He seemed to have fur growing on his shoulders and back the same color of his hair as well.

Seeing the woman smile lovingly at him, he returned it and crouched down next to her bed, "How are you two doing, dear Madeline?"

"Tired… but okay Maduin honey." She motioned towards the baby in her arms, "Terra's happy to see her father too… she's pretty quiet for a baby… are all Esper babies like that?"

Maduin got a good chuckle at that, "No- from what you've told me, our infants don't behave that differently your kind's… well, the humanoid Espers, at least. It's just uncommon for both is all." Silently asking if he could hold his daughter, Madeline nodded and handed her over, "…She has your hair."

"And your face." The young woman pointed out, "The eyes… they're purple- but not your dark purple. Kind of a lavender… maybe a compromise?"

"Maybe…" Maduin contemplated that suggestion while softly stroking Terra's wisps of hair as his wife had, "Our child… she's one of a kind- I wouldn't know if that the case."

Madeline looked at her daughter and her eyes glazed over in thought, "True… our little Tewa's the only one of her kind… no one can tell us how she'll grow up or what she'll look like. She looks like a human baby right now, but for all we know she could end up covered in light pink-lavender fur and grow fangs and claws."

Maduin went silent in thought- putting a hand to his chin. Before he could answer, however, someone else entered the scene, _"What the hell…"_

The owner of that telepathic voice was what appeared to be a grey-fur wolf with glowing amber eyes. Sniffing the air, he got up on his hind legs and morphed into a more bipedal version of himself, _"Don't tell me…" _Upon seeing Terra, he looked disbelievingly at Madeline, the Maduin, then Terra, then Madeline again, then Maduin, then finally at Terra again.

It didn't take long for the Esper Wolf to put two-and-two together, _"Maduin… what have you done?"_

The beast swiftly charged at the woman and the baby and snarled, _"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"_ He roared glowing with an intense silver magical aura and frightened Madeline and greatly upset the baby Terra- who started crying.

The wolf tried to tear the bawling infant apart with his jaws, but Maduin grabbed him by the scruff and threw him crashing into the wall. He tried to get up and flee, but the gatekeeper moved faster and held him up by the neck.

Maduin too unleashed his power- far superior to that of the wolf's- and used it to choke him out as much as his grasp. From the feet to a little above the ankles as well as the hands to the elbows became covered in bright green fur. His hair and the hair on his shoulder and back took the same hue as Maduin threatened, "Fenrir… you **dare** try to harm my family again-"

"_Feh!"_ Fenrir wheezed. Unfortunately, he spoke via telepathy so he couldn't be shut up so easily, _"You call _that_ your family? Your mate is nothing but a wicked human _slut _and your… _daughter_… Warring Triad, Maduin… She's a half-breed __**abomination**__!"_ Fenrir pointed right at Terra, _"Do… Do you not _feel_ the chaos in her Esper Nexus? She's a ticking time-bomb and she's not even a day old!"_

This was hardly the first time Fenrir had lodged a complaint regarding Madeline's continued presence. He had voiced his distaste for her since the beginning when he told Maduin they should kill the human woman when she mysteriously arrived two years ago.

It seemed that little Terra was what finally drove him to this extreme.

All most as if she could understand his words, Terra began crying even louder as Madeline tried desperately to calm her down. Her efforts to ease her daughter were soon curtailed when Terra's small body started crackling with unstable light blue energy- making Madeline herself cry out when the little volts struck her through contact.

"_Madeline!"_ Maduin cried out in alarm.

Fenrir grinned victoriously, _"SEE?!"_

"It's because we're using our full power; it's no wonder she's reacting like this!" Maduin countered, but the wolf barred his fangs at the gatekeeper.

"_Even so, FEEL her core, Maduin! That power…"_ Fenrir growled at the sparkling baby, _"I loathe admitting this, but while she's weaker than a normal Esper newborn right now, she could grow stronger than the best of us when she gets older! But that means _nothing_ when it's only if she loses control! She could kill us all in _and _herself the future!"_

"…" Seeing where Fenrir was going with this, Maduin asked darkly, "And what do you propose be done about it?"

Breathing uneasily, Madeline ignored the magic radiating off her daughter and gently coddled the newly born half-Esper, "Sh…sh…Shhhsssshhh…" She stroked her daughter's hair, "It's alright wittle Tewa… everything's fine…"

"Isn't it obvious? **Kill it!**" The violence in the wolf-type Esper's tone upset Terra- who at the time was finally starting to calm down- even more. Madeline cringed as fiery heat started to join the shocks surrounding the girl, but still managed to level a glare so fierce it actually intimidated Fenrir more than being held at the neck by Maduin.

Before Maduin could choke the life out of Fenrir, another voice rang out, "Now, now- let's not be cracking each other's skulls just yet."

The two Espers and the human turned in its direction and saw what appeared to be a elderly black man with hollow eyes and a massive nose enter the room. He wore blue robes with a violet sash and had a sizable beard similar to his younger brother Ramuh's. His white hair seemed to be thinning on his head and appeared to be flowing down up to his ankles… however, looking more closely you would see that behind that hair were wings folded in a fashion that made them blend in.

Both Espers powered down as Maduin slowly put Fenrir down and addressed the man, "Elder Sephran…"

Sephran nodded in acknowledgement and walked towards Fenrir, who morphed back into his four-legged form whined like a dog at him, _"Elder, did you know about this?!"_

Finding herself starting to adjust to her daughter's powers, Madeline slowly felt the pain fade away and be replaced by a soothing warmth. Seeing the pain this surge of power was putting Terra through, Madeline began to sing a song to calm her down, _"Crossing the distant night…wandering the desert seas..."_

"Yes… that's when her staying here was set in stone. Maduin's daughter will be safer here in the Land of Espers than in the human world." The Elder looked both curiously and wearily at the baby girl in the human woman's arms that was beginning to calm back down, "That said, I do understand your discomfort with the little one's existence… particularly her unstable nexus, but that's precisely why we can't allow anything to happen to the baby or her mother."

Maduin rushed over to his wife and daughter while the elder and the wolf were talking. When he got there, though, he was relieved to see that Terra had been calmed down and that the tired Madeline wasn't hurt in her fragile condition. The young woman was still humming the tune she was singing earlier, though he had only heard a small part of the lyrics, and was currently feeding Terra.

Fenrir was still angry, but seeing the glare both Maduin and Sephran were giving him he decided to withdraw for now. Before leaving, though, he warned, _"Mark my words, Maduin. You made a big mistake bringing that woman here two years ago. She and your daughter…"_ Taking one last look at Terra, he finished, _"They'll be the death of us all."_

And with that, the Esper Wolf left in a huff.

With him gone, Sephran decided to join up with the family and bent down next to Terra, "I see you've calmed down this young one's powers… very good."

Of the Espers besides her mate/husband, Sephran may have been the only one that didn't mind Madeline's presence and had some degree of trust in her. It was mainly due to his close relationship to Maduin, but eventually Madeline's charm and good nature won him over. The fact that his brother had visited the human world from time to time also helped.

As such, the human woman thought of him as a kind, elderly father-in-law. Madeline looked up at the wise old Esper questioningly, "Will our Terra be alright, Elder?"

Sephran nodded reassuringly, "It would seem so…" Closing his eyes, he moved a hand glowing with magic up close to Terra and moved it around the baby like a scanner. As he moved it, Terra glowed blue off and on at the same rate as the elder's hand, "…It seems Fenrir was spot on about her nexus, but it's not as bad as he made it sound." He opened his eyes, "Given proper training as she grows and I think she'll be just fine…"

"That's good. Thank you, Elder-"

"I'm not finished." Sephran interrupted. He looked at his adoptive son and his mate and added with a grim expression, "However, if she doesn't get training then she could be as dangerous as Fenrir claims. Young Terra's true powers won't reveal themselves for years now, but she'll need you there, Maduin, if she's to control them."

"Understood, my friend." Clearing his throat, Maduin addressed his wife/mate in a more relaxed manner, "Just out of curiosity, what was it you were singing to Terra?"

"You mean that song?" Looking at her daughter with a smile, Madeline answer, "Actually, I made it up on the spot. The lyrics probably are going to change, but I think it was the tune itself that Terra liked." She laughed a little as she thought out loud, "Maybe we should call it her theme?"

"Hrm…" Maduin mused, "It's a lovely melody… That's not a bad idea."

* * *

**October 18, 2 A.C. (After Cataclysm)**

**Mobliz**

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Years later, the grown-up Terra Branford still hummed "Terra's Theme" to herself as she took care of her own kids: the Mobliz orphans. She didn't know today was her birthday, but she still felt happy about it. It had been about a year since the Fall of Kefka and she had enjoyed every moment she felt finally free ever since…

...

...

…Not knowing that less than a year later, her life would be turned upside down yet again for better or worse…

* * *

**First: I want to say that this was intended to be posted yesterday ijust n time for my favorite Final Fantasy character's birthday. Even though I didn't make, I'll still say this: "Happy Birthday, Terra!"**

**Second: if you want to know what that last line is referring to, it's my _Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War._ Don't worry: reading that isn't necessary to enjoy the story.**

**Warning: the following begins what I like to call: "Uncle Michael Mario's Happy Fun-Fun Rant Time". You have been warned.**

**Third: looks like we're finally getting a FFVI remake... for smartphones... using the Dimensions and FFV RPG Maker knock-off style instead of a full 3D remake like FFIV DS...**

**...I'd like to apologize to whomever's cat I killed when I heard that. I was filled with an sudden urge to destroy the nearest living creature. ****I didn't like what they did with FFV either- especially the portraits that clash with the sprite-style like nobody's business.**

**Sad thing is that the game is only considered a gem mainly to the Western market- more NA mainly because EU didn't get it on the SNES. The Japanese fanbase isn't anywhere near as large as it is in west: being the the fourth-lowest ranking main series game in Famitsu's Top 100 Games of All Time poll at 25 with only I, II, and XII ranked below it.**

**While I understand it's an Japanese company first, ...Square- you do business on an international scale. Take that into consideration as you use Lightning- a good character, but a poor fanservice character- into revealing and cute outfits and give us a lower quality remake than VI's core audience wants (especially given it'll be on devices nearly everyone overhere has). Cultural barriers- I get that, but still.**

**Let's hope they port it, or give us another remake in the future specifically for the 3DS (wishful thinking, but the 3D is perfect for the original's Mode 7 effects) along with perhaps V. You say you want to look into more NA-focused games, Square- there's a place to start.**

**I like Lightning (she isn't quite in my Top 5 FF Females, but she's still good) but her design is meant to be cool- not drop dead sexy or incredibly adorable (the latter being more suited for Terra, actually).**

**Rant concluded. Need to get that off my chest. Have a nice day!**

**As for my other stories- don't worry I'm still working on them (and some new stuff). School has me swamped, but I wanted to be this in honor of my favorite character. The biggest source of inspiration for this fic was Lirillith's "At First Sight". It's an in-depth version of the Esper World flashback up to the point Madeline tries to leave the Esper World. I'd highly recommend it.**

**Be sure to review! As always, criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive.**


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